Our Therapy Team
We are proud to have a comprehensive in-house therapy team, comprising of Speech and Language therapists, Occupational therapists, a SEMH (social, emotional and mental health) team, Physiotherapists, Education Audiologist, Teachers of the Deaf and a Counsellor. We provide an integrated therapy approach throughout the curriculum.
The Therapy Team works in close collaboration with the Academy Education Team, the Residential Care Team, all external agencies, and families/carers, to maximise best possible outcomes for all our students. We know that children and young people learn and move forward in their educational journey when the needs identified in their EHCP are supported. We provide assessment, treatment and advice as required based on each students’ individual needs. As an integrated team, we also provide support and training to staff, so that they can better support our learners.
Multi-sensory Impairment (MSI)/Deafblindess
Roughly 14% of young people in The Deaf Academy are multi-sensory impaired/deafblind. Deafblindness is a combined vision and hearing impairment of such severity that it is hard for the impaired senses to compensate for each other. It impacts your communication, mobility, and ability to access information. It affects different people in different ways.
As an Academy, 44 of our staff members have completed an accredited MSI intervener course, including; the principal, assistant principal, teachers, Higher Level Teaching Assistants (HLTA’s), residential support staff and the therapies team. This course has provided the Academy with the theoretical knowledge and practical skills to carry out the role of an MSI intervener. Our staff receive regular refreshers during inset days to ensure the knowledge and skills are upheld and the latest learning can be put into practice.
Communication Support Workers
Our team of Communication Support Workers (CSWs) support students and others in a range of settings. All of our CSWs are trained to BSL Level 3 and above, and some have BSL Level 6 or are qualified interpreters. The CSW team is a group of professionals employed to provide communication support for students on an individual basis or as part of a group with other deaf students. This takes place at the Academy and in mainstream educational institutions such as primary schools, secondary schools, mainstream colleges, universities and other educational organisations.
Our bilingual approach to learning means the role of a CSW is multi-faceted, which is of huge benefit to our students and supports those students who are also educated in mainstream settings. Whilst BSL is an important communication tool for deaf students, many students have unique learning needs and require more than one form of support day-to-day.
CSWs also provide Signed Supported English, note taking, language modification and tutorial support. This level of bespoke support enables students to fully access educational information contained within curriculums and any other educational and social environments, in a manner best suited to their individual needs.
Technology at the Academy
At the Deaf Academy we continue to embrace new technology and are constantly evolving and innovating our approach to learning.
One of our most successful advances is our use of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) tools to help people who struggle with speech. Our staff take a unique, inclusive approach by combining personalised AAC use with BSL, ensuring all communication forms are accessible. Students use their AAC devices out in the local community, helping them overcome communication barriers with the hearing community. Students now confidently interact in public, supporting their independence and reducing their reliance on staff interpreters.
Our students also enjoy the use of our new state-of-the-art vibrating vests and mats called Woojers, which embrace the latest in haptic and Bluetooth technology. They were kindly donated to the Academy by Exeter Southernhay and Topsham Rotary Club. They have a wide range of therapeutic, educational and social benefits, enabling students to experience sound through vibrations.
The Academy has also recently introduced Virtual Reality headsets into learning. The VRs are being used for creating immersive learning experiences, such as virtual field trips to historical sites like the Titanic or the Amazon rainforest and enabling collaborative problem-solving in virtual spaces. We are also using them to support students’ fitness, coordination and well-being.